Growing Sesame (Til) in Madhya Pradesh

Updated 2026-07-13 · Region guide

Madhya Pradesh sits in the Central Plateau (Malwa) with semi-arid, monsoon-fed and deep black soil. India's soybean bowl — the Malwa black-soil plateau. Here's how sesame (til) — a Kharif & summer crop — fits, and how to grow it well here.

Is Madhya Pradesh good for growing sesame (til)?

When to sow sesame (til) in Madhya Pradesh

Sow in Kharif Jul and harvest around Sep–Oct. The crop takes about 80–95 days. In Madhya Pradesh's semi-arid, monsoon-fed, the window matters more than anything else you do: ~1000 mm rainfall and largely rainfed Kharif mean a late Kharif & summer sowing runs sesame (til) into the wrong weather at its most sensitive stage.

Where sesame (til) actually grows in Madhya Pradesh

MP's sesame is a Bundelkhand and north-MP crop — Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Niwari, Panna, Sagar, Damoh, Shivpuri and Morena, extending to Jabalpur, Katni, Sidhi, Shahdol and Seoni. It is rainfed kharif on shallow, light, often stony land that carries no irrigation.

Where it is sold: Tikamgarh, Sagar, Chhatarpur, Damoh, Katni and Guna are the working yards, and the seed mostly moves to Gujarat's hullers through traders rather than being processed in MP. NAFED has run PSS procurement of sesame in Bundelkhand in some years — worth asking your SADO about before harvest, because it is the only thing here resembling a floor.

The local risk to plan for: Bundelkhand's classic double hit: a monsoon break at flowering, then heavy September rain at capsule fill that brings Macrophomina and shatters the crop. Shallow soil gives the plant nothing to fall back on in either direction.

Best sesame (til) varieties for Madhya Pradesh

Grown in Madhya Pradesh:

• TKG-22 (JNKVV, Tikamgarh)
• TKG-55
• TKG-306 (bred for MP and Chhattisgarh)
• TKG-308 (~85–90 days)
• JTS-8 (Jabalpur)

Confirm the variety is notified for Madhya Pradesh — on deep black soil under largely rainfed Kharif, a variety bred for a different zone will underperform whatever the seed packet claims. Your Madhya Pradesh KVK or agriculture officer holds the current shortlist.

Typical yield & price

Typical yield here is around 3–5 quintal/acre. The government MSP is ₹8,635/quintal; local mandi rates vary, so check YieldAI for today's live Madhya Pradesh price.

Common problems in Madhya Pradesh

The pests and diseases to scout for:

• Macrophomina stem and root rot after a wet spell on hot ground — the main MP capsule-fill loss
• phyllody spread by jassids
• leaf webber / capsule borer
• Alternaria leaf spot in a prolonged wet September

semi-arid conditions shape which of these bite hardest each season — scout early and act while a problem is small. YieldAI can identify a pest or disease from a photo of your crop.

Key practices

• Use the TKG varieties bred at Tikamgarh for this exact tract rather than seed carried in from another state
• Shallow Bundelkhand soil waterlogs faster than it looks — sow across the slope on ridges and keep an outlet open
• Harvest at capsule yellowing and stook the crop; a September shower on a ripe standing crop shatters it
• Ask your SADO or the NAFED centre whether sesame PSS procurement is open this year before you commit the lot to a trader